Germany rejects Berlin district's request to legalize cannabis

BERLIN - Germany's Federal Institute for Drugs and Medical Devices rejected an application on Monday by a Berlin district to legalize the sale of hashish and marijuana.

Monika Herrmann, the major of the Friedrichshain-Kreuzberg district, had hoped to get approval for the sale of the drugs to registered adults in four shops in the district. But the institute nixed the proposal citing narcotics regulations banning the sale of the drugs except for very few medically justified cases.